You must have heard that ancient Sinhalese were experts on all subjects. Isurumuniya is one place that proves that sinhalese at that time were masters in art as well.
Living like engravings in precision detail on granite stones that resembles a couple in love made this place world famous.
It has taken the attention of many artist around the world too. This is the place that brought the heritage of Sri Lanka to the world audience.
It is a must visit place for a tourist. Once you visit this place , you can witness that ancient sinhalese had the best talents in terms of life while many around the world spend their time hunting within jungles.
This is never to be avoided place for a tourist in Sri Lanka. Giant natural granite mountain is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Its known as the 8th wonder of the world.
King Seegiri Kashyapa who was at the helm around 477 BC sponsored the construction of this magnificent complex of structures on this granite mountain. It belongs to Matale District, and closest major city is Dambulla.
Specialties are Castle built on top of granite mountain top, Lion’s Arch made with bricks , drawings of women at that time and the Poetry Wall. Today only ruins of the castle on granite mountain top can be seen, but even that shows the amazing talents of ancient sinhalese who built these structures.
Built at the end of 500 BC , apart from the Royal castle , Guard Towers , Cover Walls , Water Ways , Natural Granite Arches as well as flower gardens can also be witnessed. Wall drawings at this place made it world famous and must be witnessed with your own eyes. Can be reached in around 4 hours from capital City of Colombo , Seegiriya has many tourist hotels also near by.
Another great creation by the ancient sinhalese is the Gadaladeniya Vihara or Temple. In Kandy Road from Colombo , near the 104thKiloMeter post, turning right towards Davulugala Road nearly 1 km, This place can be reached.
4th Parakramabahu who was at the helm from 1341 yo 1351 BC sponsored this Temple. This is by far the most exclusive building raised in Gampola Kingdom , where King’s castle was located in Gampola , Central province in Sri Lanka. Built on natural granite base, also finished fully in granite, that gives a very special attraction to this sacred temple.
While traveling in Sri Lanka , there are plenty of facilities for you to access in order to learn the history of this place as well. This is a place which you should never miss.
A must visit place for a tourist coming to Sri Lanka is the Palace of the Tooth in Kandy, Central Province. It is the sacred place where Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha is deposited.
This is the supreme place of worship for all Buddhists worldwide. Also a UNESCO heritage site. You can arrive at this place after a 4 hour journey from the Capital city of Colombo.
This sacred palace was first built by King 1st Wilamadharmasuriya who was at helm from 1592 to 1602 BC. That original building was demolished by Portuguese after they invaded the island. Current two floor building was completed by King Weera Parakrama Narendrasinghe who was at helm from 1707 to 1739 BC.
Current lay custodian of this Palace is Diya Wadana Nilame. You can witness that people from all over the world come to see this palace every day. Sri Lankas are proud and greatful about this Sacred Palace. There are plenty of Tourist Hotels nearby This UNESCO heritage site. Therefore this tourist attraction is at easy access.
Another very exclusive and expensive gem found in Sri Lanka. Classified as chrysoberyls , if these are cut into Cabochun shape, a bright and sharp line can be seen if light is directed onto the gems.
Reason for this are the Routile fibers that span vertically around the gem. Only one line can be seen, if more than one line is there to be seen , they fell in to category of Star Sapphires.
In Sri Lanka , Ratnapura , Eheliyagoda, Kalawana , Elahera , these minerals are discovered. They are available in Green to Light Yellow Color. These are also discovered in India and Madagascar, but highest quality Cat’s Eyes are only found in Sri Lanka.
Rarest gem mineral on earth. True name of this mineral type is boninite green serendibite. For a beginner in gems , this mineral is a mystery. Ancient arabs called Sri Lanka as serendib.
Hence that is now the name for this gem was derived. Person who owns the honor of discovering and presenting about this gem to the world is Mr A. K. Ananda Kumaraswami. Blueish green color emitting these minerals has refraction indexs of 1.700 , 1.706, 1.734 and 1.738. These are so rare that only 9 such gemstones available in hands at the moment.
External appearance has shiny green and blue color can easily be mistaken with gem type Konarupin.
But Refraction Index and Chemical Analysis can differentiate the two. Refraction Index volume can range between 1.697 and 1.702. Specific Gravity is between 3.42 and 3.52. Density is between 6.5 and 7.5. Lines inside the gem mineral and shapes outside of it have a very unique and untidy arrangement. Lattice structure is made of triclinic arragements. Chemical Formula is (Ca ,Na)2 (Al.MgFe2TFe3+)6(Si.B.Al)6O20. Scientific grouping is borosilicate. No internal cracks were witnessed in these gems. Only found in Embilipitiya , Sri Lanka and due to very very rare nature , no price has been yet established for this mineral stone.
This very special gemstone, which you can purchase yet very very rare in availability. It is the highest ranking gem in the Family of Corundums.
High quality King Sapphire with no cracks are even rare. True color of these gems are similar to color of lotus flower combined with golden yellow. This is a very bright pinkish gold color.
Aluminum and Chromium are the two unique elements exists in these minerals. Chromium ions help it to get that unique pink and gold yellow color. Therefore they are known as king sapphires. In Sri Lanka , these gems were found in Ratnapura , Kahawatta , Pelmadulla. Such gems with poor quality are found in Madagascar and Myanmar. But Highest Quality gems only found in Sri Lanka.
Commonly discovered in Sri Lankan gem mines, Zircons are not expensive. These are usually found in gem deposites on rivers.
In Sri Lanka Okkampitiya ( 160km away from Ratnapura) is very famous for these variety. Among these “red zircons” have high demand hence bit expensive.
Uni Refracted light family of gems all of them are zircons. Most common among these are milky hassonites. Density is between 6.5 and 7.5. Refractive Index is between 1.72 and 1.94. Specific Gravity is between 3.1 and 4.3. Special variety of Zircons known as Rhodonites are have deep red colors when exposed to direct light.
Primary elements which provides Zircons their colors are Iron (fe),Calcium (Ca),Vanadium (Va),Manganese (Mn),Aluminium (Al),Zirconium (Zr),Chromium (Cr),Yttrium (Y) .
Sri Lanka is very rich in natural resources. Beautiful wild animals and natural rain forests are two among them. This Forest Park is one great example for this. Spans nearly 6900 hectares , This is the 15th Forest Reserve park in terms of registry.
It is located in North Central Province , on Polonnaruwa District. Tourist can visit this location by reaching Habarana from Colombo , head towards Trincomalee and stop at Square Fort Junction. Turn towards Gal Oya Railway junction, and Forest Park Office headquarters is near by. It’s mountains range from 60 to 500 meters from the sea level. At it’s base is the Kaudulu Reservoir.
This forest is a dry region rain forest consist of all the elements in dry weather trees. There are many many varieties of grass types also found within the forest park. It provides food and shelter for many wild animals who reside in and around the park. At Sun Set herds of elephants come to the Reservoir for water , and it is one of the best views in the wild. Deers , Bears , Wild Cats and Giant Birds can also be witnessed in this Forest Park.
Located in Trincomalee , Eastern province, this is also a must seen place if you are touring Sri Lanka. After reaching Trincomalee town, head towards Pulmude Road 45 kilometers and you will reach Thiriyaya Village.
Within this village this sacred place is located in a mountain top. In this Pagoda , it is believed that Hair Relics of Lord Buddha are deposited. It is believed as the first Pagoda constructed in Sri Lanka.
When you reach the mountain top , you can clearly see the Indian Ocean in it’s widest form that our eyes can catch. This is an impossible view in other locations. There are many facilities for you to study the great history of this place within reach.
Recently discovered , quickly stormed the gem market , this gem type is also exclusive. It belongs to gem family known as spinel but unlike the rest, this is a very rare gem.
These gems are usually discovered in town called Okkampitiya which is 160km away from Gem capital Ratnapura. Many gem merchants thought these as fake or artificial gems.
Gem Expert Dunil Palitha Gunasekara first manage to differentiate this modern mineral family. Biggest Cobalt Spinel Gem was discovered in 2009 from a mine in Okkampitiya weigh at 2.2kg. Chemical composition consist of mainly oxide minerals. These are usually Magnesium (Mg) and Silicon (Si).
But Cobalt spinel consist of Cobalt element in it , giving shiny blue color known as “electric blue”. There plenty of blue spinel gems which are commonly found in mines , yet spinels with electric blue are very rare, at the rate of 1%. Density is between 7.5 and 8.
